03.24.07

Tim Cook proposes the headline, “accomplished asshole advocates abstract Anaheim Angels annihilation”, adding the aside, “yet another reason I can’t wait for baseball season to start: 162 opportunities for Jose Guillen to dictate! That is until the injuries limit quotation time to a small fraction of possible total.” From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Dave Andriessen and John Hickey.

Two teams and more than two years removed from his ugly departure from the Los Angeles Angels, you’d think Jose Guillen would be over it.You’d be wrong.

“Against these guys, I’m gonna tell you straightforward, the anger comes out of me,” the Mariners right fielder said Friday. “I want to kill all those guys.”

Despite his reputation as an angry guy, Guillen meant “kill” in the competitive, not the literal, sense. Metaphorically, he helped kill the Angels on Friday, hitting a two-run homer in the first inning and going 3-for-4 in Seattle’s 10-6 victory.

“I love a lot of those guys I played with over there, but there’s some guys I don’t really love over there, and I want to show them something,” Guillen said. “The decision they made was a stupid one, and it should have been handled different.

“I (wish) we could play them 162 times. That’s going to be my motivation. And trust me, that’s not good when Jose Guillen gets motivated. I really step up to a really different level.”

Friday he was greeted with boos from the Angels faithful, then brought Mariners fans to their feet when he parked a 2-2 offering from former teammate John Lackey on the left-field lawn. He admits to sneaking a glance at Scioscia while headed for first base.

“I’ll always have something to prove to those guys,” Guillen said. “Not to the players maybe, but to the manager. Usually I couldn’t care less about spring training, but against that team I care. To me, I take it like it’s the (regular) season.”

The good news for Seattle fans is that once the games do count, the Mariners and Angels are scheduled to play 19 times.

“It’s going to be 19 exciting, good games, I can tell you that,” Guillen said. “You can write that down. It’s going to be 19 exciting games. It’s going to be crazy when we go to Anaheim, but I know how to handle it. I do not (feel) pressure from anyone, and I will prove it on the field.”

Guillen has a pair of doubles for the M’s in today’s exhibition with the Royals (K.C. currently leading, 3-2 through 7 innings), while another former Angel, Jerod Washburn, allowed 6 hits and 3 earned runs over 6 innings pitched for Seattle.